Foods frequently contain a combination of many dyes. For instance, the six most popular artificial food colors—Red 40, Blue 1, 2, and 3, Yellow 5 & 6—are all present in foods like cookies, cakes, cereal, ice cream, candies, and toaster pastries.
The toxicity of food additives, specifically azo-dyes, has recently received more attention. Bright colors are often seen in this group of colorants. However, probable carcinogenicity that could result from their azo reduction to carcinogenic metabolites by gut bacteria frequently restricts their use.
